An unmanned mining vehicle can be automatically driven in a mine along a predetermined route when the direction of the vehicle and the length of travel are known. The route may be stored as an electronic map in the control system of the vehicle. The initialization of automatic driving is subject to accurate knowledge of the position and direction of the vehicle. Particularly when the positioning of a mining vehicle is not based on the use of positioning systems adapted in advance to a mine, problems have been observed in the determination of the starting position and starting direction of the vehicle.